Method of treating water



s- 24, 1948. w. B. LEAF 2,447,511

METHOD OF TREATING WATER Filed May 2, 1944 I Patented Aug. 24, 194% UNITED STATES PATENT UPI-U21 ME'IHGD or TREATING WATER Walter B. Leaf, Denver, Colo. Application May 2, 1944, serial No. 533,683 3 Claims. (611.210-16) 1 My invention relates to methods for removing scale forming ingredients and other impurities from water and particularly to methods for removing silica from water. I

Natural waters contain impurities which render them unsatisfactory for use in steam boilers; and it is, therefore, necessary to treat the water to remove the impurities. Hard waters contain dissolved solids including various salts, which upon heating in a boiler may be precipitated and produce a deposit of hard scale on the boiler surfaces which materially impairs the efficiency of the boiler. In addition to the formation of the scale the dissolved substances may cause corrosion of the boiler walls. Various treatments are known for removing most of impurities economically and rendering the water satisfactory for boiler use. When silica is present in the water a very hard and dense scale is formed which has high thermal resistance and is difllcult to remove.

' In accordance with conventional practice soluble silica is removed from water by adding chemicals which have the property of adsorbing the silica. The compounds normally employed for this purpose are the hydrous oxidesor hydroxides of various metals particularly of iron, aluminum and magnesium. These adsorbents may be inmetals are preferred because they are highly efdrou oxides are formed which have the propert troduced mm the water directly or they may be formed in the water by addinga soluble salt of the metal and a suitable soluble hydroxide. In these silica removal processes it is necessary to add a considerable excess of the adsorbent materials to insure suflicient reduction of the silica content, and the cost of the processes may therefore be high.

, It is an object of my invention to provide an improved method for removing silica from water.

It is another object of my invention to provide a method of removing silica from water which is simple, inexpensive, and efiective.

Still other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the following description and the features of novelty which characterize my invention will be pointed out with parfective and are low in cost ;'however, other metals such as aluminum. magnesium and zinc may be employed. The'water to be treated is caused to flow over the mass of metal and at the same time air or a mixture of air and carbon dioxide is circulated through the mass. A corroding or rusting action takes place and metal hydroxide or hyoi adsorbing silica, and the silica content of the water is materially reduced as the water flows over the mass of metal. Soluble iron salts remaining in the water may then be removed by some suitable process such as the lime and soda" process. The new method herein described also may be employed to produce a coagulated mass or ilcc which settles by gravity and is suitable for removing solid matter, suspended in the water.

The above described process of this invention may be carried out on a commercial scale in suitable apparatus, either built for the purpose, or previously existing apparatus which is modified or adapted for use in carrying out the same. For a better understanding of the present invention,

ment tank has a screen 6 for supporting a mass of treating material I above the bottom'cf the tank, and a pipe 8 is provided for supplying air to the tank below the screen. The tank 2 is a settling tank of the center well type, the water ticularity in the claims appended to and forming Y a part of this specification.

Briefly the method of this invention for removing silica from water includes the use of a mass of .scrap material such as metal turnings, boring,

being admitted to a center well 9 and flowing" out the bottom oithe well and then upwardly to an overflow trough. ID from which it is discharged through an outlet H. Chemicals for the further treatment of the water may be admitted through a supply pipe 12; and precipitates and sediment settling to thebottom of the tank may be removed throughavalved drain-l3.

In order to treat water to soften itand re- The ardundBOF. A

Inorder to accelerate the rusting process, air

' may-be blowrr'into the tank through the supply pipe 8 so that it rises through ,the'tratlng mate'rial, Some further acceleration of the procsolved in the water leaving the tank.-

percentage basis.

fore, to treat the water in a plurality of steps I move sllicaxthe tank first'il lled withl-a-mass .of iron. or ferrous metal slireddings such as;

shreddings rapid rusting takes place inithe'pres- -ence of'the air in the tank; and during the rust- '-ing process hydrous o'xiderof ironis formed.- This hydr ousoxide has .the property of adsorbing I mm; -arid the silica content offlthe water is ,jgreatly reduced as-it passes over the rusting mass of shreddings. This process of silicla re im oval takes place .emciently at temperatures ess may be secured by mixing carbon dioxide with the air. blown into the tank. 'In' some'systems it may be desirable to fill the tank with' water and thenjbubble the air through the water from.

the pipe 8 to supply the necessary oxygen. When carbon-dioxide is present in the tank I, soluble iron bicarbonate will be formed and will be dis-' I lathe tin-nines, boring's,.--etc. This of metal I ha'sIa-high surface tdvolumeratio, that is, the surface area of "the sh'reddings is great as' com- .pared with their ;volur'ne,: The silica containing f. water to be treated l's-then sprayed over the mass from. the spray head 3 and flows down- Y fward-l-y toward the bottom of the tank 1. .When' the waterzls thus sprayed "or trickled over theheretofore. h

Where theterm air is used in the speclfl- The next step inthe'process is to separate the remaining solids whether dissolved. orprecipitated. "The water from the tank [is therefore pumped to-the settling tank 2 for further treat- 'ment by the additionof chemicalsto precipitate the remaining dissolved salts including iron, bi-

'carbonate resulting from the rusting action in the first tank.- "Suitable chemicals for addition at this" stage are lime and soda ash which maybeadded in. accordance with the. practice employed in the well known "lime and soda process. 7 Insoluble carbonates; are thus precipitated in the settling. tankrla'nd they, together with any insoluble material comin -from the first tank,

. settle out and form a sludge in the bottom of tank 2. The purified water flows upwardly around "each including rusting v troduced into the tank.

the function ment.-

and sedimentation.

water durlng'the spraying process it may here'- moved bypassing. the water 'over asecond mass f --of rnetal shreddings but in the absence of air.

As'the' charge of metal in 'the' first treating tank'is used up as maybe indicated by a higher silica content in the treated water, the charge While ferrous metals are cheap other metalsmaybe employed,- Other metals which may be used in thetreatment are alu-' minum, magnesium and zinc, which should be subjected to the presence of air and carbon di f goxlde-in the manner hereinbefore described. v

f This method provides'em'cient removal of silica and req'uiresa minimum amount of material to beadded to the water; The process is generally as efllcient as that in which soluble iron salts andsuitable hydroxides are added to precipitate the silica adsorbing hydroxide in the water, and

.has the advantage of not introducing sodium chloride or sulphate to the Water under treatment. Furthermore, the costof the method of my invention is lower than that of the methods practiced cation, it'is intended to include any oxygen containing gas which is capable of performing of atmospheric air in this treat- ,Whatl claim and desire tosecureby Letters Patent is;

1. A-method of removing silica from silica.-

containing water which oomprisesforming a sili- -ca adsorbing'hydroxide by passing a stream of silica-containing water downwardly over a mass of ferrous metal having a high surface to volume .the outside of'the well 9 to theoverflow trough ID from which it is w'ithdrawn for use through the outlet ll. i When no sulphates of caloiu'm'or magnesium are dissolved in the waterfit may be ,desirable to add only lime to the water in the settling tank in order to precipitate the dissolved bicarbonates.

The addition of lime to the water in the tank 2 when the water contains ferrous bicarbonate precipitates a coagulated'mass or doc which settles to the bottom of the tank and carries with it any suspended-bodies, such as organic matter, and thereby further purifies the water. This method may therefore-be employed when it is desired to remove suspended matter, the water being passed over the ferrous metal shreddings inthe presence of air and carbon dioxide in order to form soluble .ferrous bicarbonate which is then precipitated as insoluble iron hy-' droxidebyaddin calcium hydroxide to the water in the settling tank,

The process of adsorption depends upon'the amount and character of the adsorbent material and upon the amount of silica in the water to be treated, and the removal of the silica is on a It may be desirable, thereratio and simultaneously passing a stream of air upwardly over the we'tted surfaces of the ferrous metal, separating the treated water solutlon from the ferrous metal mass, next precipitating ferric compounds from the separated water solution by mixing a coagulant comprising -mass of ferrous metal having a high surface to volume ratio and simultaneously passing a stream of air upwardly over the wetted surfaces of the ferrous-metal, separating the treated water solution from the ferrous metal mass, next precipitating .ferric compounds from' the separated water solution by mixing a coagulant comprising lime with the solution, and then separating the solids fromthe liquid of the resulting aqueous suspension solution. 3. A method of removing silica from silicaoontainlng water which comprises forming a silica adsorbing hydroxide by passing a stream of silica-containing water downwardly over a mass of ferrous metal having a high surface to volume ratio and simultaneously passing a stream of air upwardly over the wetted surfaces of the ferrous metal, separating the treated water solution from the ferrous metal mass, next followed by coagulation Should an excessiofoxygcn be dissolved in the lssupplemented by a new: mass of shreddings in- 1 and easy" to I obtain,. and are very effective in-the process, a

precipitating ferrie compounds from the separated water solution by mixing soda ash and lime with the solution, and then separating the solids from the liquid of the resulting aqueous suspension solution.

WALTER B. LEAF.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the fileof this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 458,887 Devonshire Sept. 1, 1891 513,536 Soowden Jan. 30, 1894 564,942 Sellers July 28, 1896 653,740 Jewell July 17., 1900 669,335 ,Behrend Mar. 5, 1901 Number Number Great Britain July 4, 1929 

